Thursday, March 10, 2016

The Most Photogenic Angles for Birds

Since the beginning of the internet, ugly people have been asking how they can make themselves look more attractive in pictures:

Because of this, there has been lots of research done on what a person can do to make themselves look most attractive in front of the camera.

Many factors can change how attractive you will look in a picture. The main factor is how ugly you actually are, but there are also many other factors such as the focal length of the camera:

Generally, the longer the focal length, the more attractive you will look because the distance required to use that focal length will flatten your face. This is why you look attractive in the mirror but gross in iPhone selfies - your eye's focal length is longer than the iPhone camera's focal length.

Another factor that contributes to a person's attractiveness on camera is the angle at which you position your face in relation to the camera:

Experts suggest that tilting your head slightly downwards and sticking your head forward will make you look slightly better. This is why you see people holding their iPhones up above their head to take selfies - that's their best angle.

Although lots of research has been done on the photogenics of people, none has been done on birds. So what is the best angle for birds?

The answer is: it depends.

Birds look best when their defining feature is highlighted. For example, a flamingos best angle is one in which its neck looks really long:

Attractive flamingo

A bald eagle's best angle is one in which it looks most American, by looking to one side with its body facing forward. It also helps to have an American flag behind it:

Attractive bald eagle

A peacocks best angle is the one in which its long, beautiful, colorful feathers are dragging on the ground the most:

Attractive peacock

As you can see, there is no golden rule when it comes to photogeniticity of birds. If you are going to follow one rule for photographing a bird it should be this: find your birds most defining trait and exploit it using your camera and directing skills.